A Pale Shadow
by fajara
Summary: Aang has already learned Earth and Waterbending, and is off to find a Firebending teacher, with help from Yana an Earthbender who tagged along. Nya. What a horrible but devoid of questions summary. Just R&R.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related. I do own Yana, Keiya, and Cape Koane and any of its inhabitants.

**Note:** I don't speak Japanese. A friend of mine thought up names for most of my characters. I have no idea what any of them mean in another language.

* * *

In the Air

"Yana, are you absolutely sure you know where you're going this time?" Katara asked nervously, fiddling with the end of her braid.

"Completely positive. I _lived_ there, y'know. See that cape up there? It's –"

"Not on the map!" Aang exclaimed loudly, waving the incriminating paper in front of the young Earthbender's face.

Yana gave her long brown hair an impatient toss. "Of course not. If it was, legions of Firebenders could waltz right in."

"I'm guessing this is why it's taken you about three days to find this?" Sokka asked.

"What took so long was the fact that your cynical comments are really getting on my nerves and I can't think." Yana turned to Aang. "C'mon, let's land. I can't wait to b on solid land again…"

At Cape Koane

"I'm sure everyone will be glad to see you, Aang. And I'd bet I've got a friend who'd love to teach you." Yana said with a smile as the four approached what was finally beginning to look like a village rather than a smudge of white in the forest.

"Glad to see us, huh? Isn't that what we thought about Omash-"

'Who are you and what are you doing here?" a voice demanded as a boy landed expertly in front of them, brandishing a spear and blocking their path.

"Thanks for the welcome party, Kip, but I'm not in the mood. I'm hungry and tired and Keiya will kill me if I leave her with Hec a moment longer than necessary." Yana pushed the dazed boy out of her way and dashed toward a row of neat white houses with Katara, Aang, and Sokka in tow. The lad caught up.

"Yana? Ooh, you are in serious trouble. Keiya was so ticked when you took off. She was ranting and everything, even threatened to disembowel you the moment you got home." Kip looked rather excited at the prospect of Yana being disemboweled.

"Keiya doesn't rant, Kip. I'll bet you're lying." Yana, thoroughly unperturbed by the threats.

The small knot of people squeezed, with some difficulty, into a low-slung cottage at the end of a row. A voice broke out instantly, accompanied by footsteps, when the door creaked open.

"KIP! Where in hellfire have you been all day? I should only have to tell you once not to go gallivanting off, and with the stove going, really, you'd think a boy of your age would have more common-" The young woman stopped abruptly when she spotted the five people in her doorway, rather than one. She gave a impatient twitch of her head which sent her long black braid cascading down between her shoulder blades and straightened her back, but her tired amber eyes and the worry crease between her arched brows betrayed her stance.

"Yana? Oh, good, you're back. Don't _ever_ take off like that again. Here, take your little beast! And," Here she paused, transferring the small child on her hip to Yana's arms, then continued, "Who've you brought back?"

"This is Katara, Sokka, and Aang. This is Keiya." Yana grinned, gesturing to each in turn. Keiya gave each one a measured look, her narrow eyes lingering for a moment on Aang's forehead as he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other under her gaze.

"Well, no sense in hanging about, I guess. Come in, and have some food."

On the Ship

"What makes you so sure the Avatar is in this village?"

Zuko's scrutinized the horizon, never stopping their incessant quest for the beige-and-black smudge that meant salvation. His fingers idly twisted the spyglass, but he resisted raising it to his eyes and he swatted his uncle's query away like a nagging fly.

"We've followed him to the North Pole, and to Bai Sing Se.(?) He'll need to learn Firebending next. It would be thoughtless of him to head to the Fire Nation. There's a city of vagabonds in these parts." The pause in concentration was brief, and as soon as the answer was finished, the boy went back to his search.

Iroh stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "There is something else on your mind, Prince Zuko. I am thinking that perhaps the Avatar is not the only thing you hope to uncover in this town…"

Zuko whirled angrily on the old man. "The only thing on my mind is the Avatar!" he bellowed, and stalked off.


End file.
